So Whats The Secret ?

Originally posted by Garage Concepts1



Edited: 8/29/2006 10:31:10 AM by Garage Concepts1

Originally posted by Fuller



features are over-rated...is all about who u know and who u blow

I agree! Sucks but 95% true...The other 5% is how wild you go with your RIE...

I STRONGLY DISAGREE --- IVE HAD FRIENDS COME UP TO SHOWS BY PHOTGRAPHERS FROM MAGS THAT SIMPLY ASKED "HEY WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET YOUR TRUCK SHOT" --- THEY SEE WHAT THEY LIKE AND WANT TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERSBY PUTTING IT IN THERE MAGZ --- I KNOW ITS ALOT ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS PERSONAL OPINIONS ON EVERY RIDES ---- BUT THEY R ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE MAG AND WHAT THERE READERS WANT TO SEE --- JUST GO TO SHOWS PARK IN A GOOD SPOT AND HOPE SOMEONE SEES YOUR RIDE --- DONT GO UP TO THE PHOTOGRAPHER BEGGING FOR A PIC -- LIKE I SAID THEY WILL COME UP TO YOU AND ASK IF THEY REALLY WANNA SHOOT IT !!!! -- MY 2 CENTS !!!! --- BUILD IT FOR YOURSELF NOT FOR THE MAGZ OR VIDEOS !!!!! THAT IS JUST ICING ON THE CAKE ---

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL POST BY ADAM...

I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me and thats fine too but, most people do build their ride because of their love of the lifestyle, because they have been reading minitruckin for years and going to every show and truck run because they just absolutly love it and can't get enough of it. we all get a lot of new ideas from that magazine, the forefront of this lifestyle and we have all at one time or another have thought to ourselves or to others that they hope that one day they're truck will grace the pages of minitruckin mag. and lets be honest without sounding like an ass, if it weren't for all us minitruckers and lovers of this lifestyle then there wouldn't be a minitruckin magazine. yes sometimes it does seem that it is all about who you know or what car club you are in, especialy with the last editor they had. it does get frustrating to some and eventualy it makes some people loose interest in this lifestyle because they feel like they don't fit in no matter what they do. my truck has been shoot twice by two differnt photographers, Brandi Gulow and Joe Greeves, first in 2002 and second by Joe in 2004 yet it has never been published in the magazine. a guy i know just got fetured and it is a truck that mine always beat at every show. don't get me wrong i am happy for the the guy and i do think his truck deserves it, but it kinda makes me feel like what i have built doesn't. it makes me feel like the lifestyle i have given so much to over the years (since 91) doesn't give a crap about me and the truck i built for myself isn't good enough, i've even been told that the color of my truck doesn't photograph well (wow). now my truck just sits in my driveway going to shit because i have lost interest in a lifestyle that has lost interest in me. so yes i can simpathize with the person that started this tread and the others that have always asked these same questions, because god knows i have never been give any answers.

I know someone is going to pick this apart and tear me a new one and you are intitled to you own opinion just as i am with leaving this post.

And don't take this the wrong way but we have heard from Chad L., it would be nice to hear from Mike A. on the subject, because i think he has done a great job with the magazine since he took over after Lance.F.T.W.



OK NOW FROM ME....

OK.... i have known adam for a good long while now....i mean shit he bagged my truck, he really got me into the mini truckin scene more than anyone, id say i been doin it since about 99, but once i moved here and met adam through an old web site (team 720) we started hangin out...hell we were in the same club for some time....any way i understand his point and i understand other peoples point, i could care less about being featured but at the same time it would be bad ass to be featured....but for you all that dont know this guy hes definately one of the ones that has really kept mini truckin alive around here and definately for me....back when we were in slammed images together also with the yellow frontier you just recently saw in mini truckin we all went to shows together alot...and everytime seemed like adam would beat that frontier not caring whether he won or not but the guy with the frontier seemed to have a bad attitude about losing, theres nothin wrong with that but thats just not me...adam never seemed to care whether he lost or won....well one year his truck got featured by brandi and russel grulow, man was he excited...it was definately a good time and we were all lookin foward to seein it come out...well it never did, and take it i now know how freelance photographers work so dont think i dont know how it all works...ok then at booger bash on its last year joe greeves shot this truck AGAIN for mini truckin...well once again we were all excited to see that ok now Joe shot it im sure that it will come out....once again nope.....now just think about how you would feel after bein shot twice and let down not once but twice....u just gotta understand, i know this is not me we are talkin about but this guy has really done alot for me in the mini truckin scene, by workin on my truck and just teachin me a few things here and there....and he doesnt really want a feature i mean shit hes already been shot twice even though it didnt come out...i think hes basically lookin for an explanation about it all... mini truckers are definately scarce around here and i would hate to see another one gone or loose interest...and oh yea who cares who the fuck you know, i really dont think its about that...just lookin out for my friends...see yall at ///RA show

NC petitioning

What's up guy's. Interesting. I thought I might add some insight to this thread. I finished my truck about 3 months ago after 4 years of working my ass off on it. No one had seen this truck for the 4 years I worked on it accept my wife and kids.I did everything but glass, exhaust and bottom end of my engine on this truck myself. When I finished painting and people came and looked at it they would say " man that thing should be in a magazine" and I would alway's tell them " I doubt that will ever happen but that would make those 4 years of work and money all pay off" I took it to Midwest Dragfest in june not knowing if anyone would even care to look at my truck let alone get a magazine shoot. I had people over looking at it before I even had time to get out of it.I noticed one guy looking it over real hard. I spoke to him in a kind manner and answered any questions he had about the truck.I wasn't there honestly 10 min. The guy then said " My name is Brant Long I'm here with Street Trucks, has anyone shot this truck before?" I said no I just finished it this week, it's been in my garage for the last 4 years and this was it's maiden voyage and it's first show. He then said he wanted to shoot it if I was interested and I said sure. I took home some awards from that show and a photo shoot. It took me about 3 day's before it sunk in. I was sitting by my truck at Indy Truck Bash and a guy asked me if I owned the truck, he was the Editor of Street Trucks and he told me it was coming out in the Nov. issue. I am exited as hell about it and I am 45 years old. We came back to the truck later in the day and there was a business card on my steering wheel frome Bob Ryder of Truckin saying he was interested in shooting the truck. Everyone was like "Damn man, your going to be in every magazine" And now to make a long story longer, I didnt know any of these guy's.

It all happened at the big shows so I would say yes take it to all the big shows you can. I don't know what they are looking for in our trucks, what makes them feature worthy. When I was building my truck I did try to venture away from the norm. If everyone was going left I did my best to go right. I tried to stay away from the things I thought to be trendy, cool today, stupid tomorrow. I tried to do custom stuff I hadn't seen before, but it's hard to do custom stuff and look good too. I wasted a $400.00 Escalade hood on a custom idea I had for it and had to buy another one. I am a stickler to detail and I did do my best work on it, that I'm sure helps. I heard Chip Foose say the other day " when you build a vehicle, treat each piece as if it was going to be the focal point of the vehicle and sit in the middle of the hood. if you do that you will have built the best you can build." We all copy off one another but change it up a bit. Add your own creativity. Don't just copy what you see in the magazines. You have to remember, don't take it personal if you don't get a feature. These guy's are in business for 1 thing, to sell magazines. I read an article in Truckin once where someone asked why didn't they feature more home built trucks and they said we will feature a home built truck. Bring us one that is worthy of a feature and we will feature it. I don't have any tv's in my truck, I only have 20" wheels and it's a fullsize so don't think you have to be tuckin 24s before anyone will look at it. I don't have any graphics painted on my truck so you don't have to have every color on your truck that House Of Color offers. When I was building my truck, a magazine feature was the farthest thing from my mind. I built it the way I wanted, what I thought was cool. I hope this helps some of the guy's thinking they have to own a $100,000 shop built truck to get featured. Do your best work, yea it's gonna cost ya a good amount of your time and a hell of a bunch of cash and most important of all, FINISH IT! don't be changin shit you alreay have done because you seen another truck that looked better than the setup you have. Keep doing that shit and you guy's will be as old as my ass when your done. Keep your heads up, your day will come! See ya at the big shows! Sorry for the book.

^^^ WELL SAID ^^^ -- CONGRATS AS WELL!!!

I was there at Booger Bash when Joe was shooting Adam's truck. I can only imagine what his feelings were when he didn't see it come out for the 2nd time. In my eyes...it deserves it. I completely understand that his is not the only feature that was shot and never run...but he is entitled to be upset. Oh yeah and back to the original topic...it takes the same to get featured in a mag that it takes to win at a well judged show...CLEAN EXECUTION (and an logo). J/K guys. Don't worry about it...paper is like plastic trophies.

back in '98 before i knew any magazine editors my tacoma showed up in show coverage from Low Rollers End of Summer Bash. I won't lie- That was like the greatest moment of my life. I couldn't believe something i made was in a magazine. It wasn't even that great of a truck- just some wheels and hydros. I kept going with the build to one-up my friends. It was never about getting a feature. My buddy shawn body dropped his Isuzu and i had to be as low as him so i bdropped my taco. It was all about the competition and one-upping each other. Then i had it painted and it just escalated from there. A feature was never the goal but when it happened damn right i was stoked.

So what's the secret? Being in the right place at the right time. But if you want to tip the odds in your favor you should send a friendly email to your favorite magazine during the buildup of your truck to let them know what you're up to. Don't send 100 emails, but one every now and again as you progress will give them a heads up so that they know when your truck is done. Does that mean they'll shoot it? Not necessarily, but you just never know.

mike, your the man.

Hey...listen to that guy!^^^^ He are one of them. Still thought your Taco was badass even when it was "just hydros and wheels".

Originally posted by bURnTaco



So what's the secret? Being in the right place at the right time. But if you want to tip the odds in your favor you should send a friendly email to your favorite magazine during the buildup of your truck to let them know what you're up to. Don't send 100 emails, but one every now and again as you progress will give them a heads up so that they know when your truck is done. Does that mean they'll shoot it? Not necessarily, but you just never know.

Good post Burntaco, finally someone who gets it.BMC

I saw just a lil pic of my truck in MT and I was pretty happy just to get that. I just wanted my truck built so I could drag the shit outta it. Everything else is a bonus.